And now we take you to the Palm Court of the Grand Hotel… as the announcer used to say, introducing the BBC series of fine light classical and dance music programmes from the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, on Britain’s South

Music from the Grand Hotel

And now we take you to the Palm Court of the Grand Hotel… as the announcer used to say, introducing the BBC series of fine light classical and dance music programmes from the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, on Britain’s South Coast.

Today on Radio Riel’s main stream, we take you back to the dance-halls, hotel lounges and ocean liners of the early to middle 20th Century, characterised by the BBC radio series, Grand Hotel. We’ll also be hearing some classic big-band recordings and much more, including original recordings of the period alongside modern re-creations of the sound of the era by a range of often difficult-to-find artists.

Broadcasts of light classical music on the BBC started in 1925 from The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne and featured, to quote the Radio Times of the era, ‘Music of the Palm Court Orchestra’. The Lounge Hall of the Grand was used — the hotel did not actually have a Palm Court. The programme’s signature tune was the “big tune” from Strauss’s Roses from the South.

The picture shows the BBC’s Radio Dance Band, which broadcast on the original BBC radio station 2LO in the 1920s, and played the Cosmo Club in Soho’s Wardour Street.

Today’s programme is presented by Elrik Merlin. If you are in the United States, please click here to launch the Stream Licensing player.

To listen from outside the US, click here to start your player if your browser is set up to pass streams to an external player or can play audio streams direct (many can).

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